Sheet-perforating machine



H. K. SANDELL.

' SHEET PERFORATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED M0. 6, I920.

Patented Jui '25, 1922'.

3 SHEETS-S EET I.

Jfi'

Patented July 25, 1922.

3 S HEETS-SHEET 2- earner series HENRY K. SANDELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO HERBERT S. MILLS, OF

. v CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SHEET-PERFORATING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 25, 1922.

Application filed December 6, 1920. Serial No. 428,539.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatl, HENRY K. SANDELL,

county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sheet-Perforating Machines, of which the following is a specification.

lVIy invention relates to an improvement in the class of perforating machines, such as are used for producing themusic-sheets employed in self-playing instruments, in which theperforations are made by reciprocating punches rapidly actuated to out those of the perforations which are elongated by so feeding the sheet being acted upon as to produce the perforations by successively overlapping punch-cuts. I

Amachine in the class referred to is the subject of United States Patent No. 907,530, dated December 22, 1908, in which the.

punches are electrically operated, as they preferably are in the present machine.

'A primary object ofmy present invention is to cause the punches to operate with comparatively great rapidityin fact, those in the machine hereinafter shown and described, and which has long been in practical use, are reciprocable 3500 times per minute; and to accomplish that purpose and avoid vibrations of the machine in operation so severe as'to be detrimental to its mechanism, the machine is of relatively simple and light construction, involving comparatively few parts, p

I have more especially designed my improved machine for producing master-rolls from which to duplicate sheets for musicrolls in another machine, such as that of the said patent, thou h it may be used like the latterl I have thus 'far used it for the .master-roll producing purposeby operating it electrically from a key-board like that of a piano or organ, by causing playing ofthe keys to control electrlc ClI'CultS QOntEtHlHlg electromagnetsfor operating the armatures of the latter to effect operation .of the punches, and for that purpose electrically connected with those circuits, at the electrical contacts controlled by the keys, the circuits of the electric self playing violin'of United States Patent No. 855,021, dated May '28, 1907, to cause the perforating machine to translate the violinplaying to the sheet undergoing perforation.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a broken view in front elevation of my improved perforating machine; Figure 2 is a section on line 2'2, Fig. 1; Figure 3' is a broken'sectional vieW showingone of two similar centrally fulcrumed levers and a guided block reciprocated by it; Figure 4: is

a diagrammatic, partly sectional representationof the punch-mechanism, showing the means, duplicated for each of the many punches,v for co-operating with a punchdriving and retracting device, said means comprising a lever-operated spring retracted abutment-rod for engaging at its upper end the rear end of a punch, and electromagnets with the armatures of which the levers are connected for operating them by wires; Figure 5 is an enlarged broken perspective view of one of the plurality of similar punches; Figure 6 is an enlarged broken sectional view, the section being taken on line 6, Fig. 2, and Figure 7 is an enlarged broken per spective view of a comb-like slotted guideblock inwhich the aforesaid abutment-bars and levers work.

The frame of the machine comprises two checks, 8 and 9, connectedby a back-plate 10 containing a horizontal opening 11. To the face of this back-plate is bolted a head 12 containing a horizontal forwardly flaring discharge-opening 11 for the cuttings, registering with the opening 11. A femaledie plate 13 is let into the head 12 to register its die-openings 13 with the slot 11 and a rearward extension 12 of this head has formed in it a passage l2 for the sheet to be perforated and contains a horizontal series of punch-guiding openings 12 registering with the die-openings 13: To the face of the head-extension 12 twosimilar angle-bars 14, 14: are bolted through their vertical webs to project the horizontal webs at opposite sides of the horizontal center of the head-extension in parallel relation to each other 'and form a passage-way 1 1,

as hereinafter explained.

The preferred form of punch used is, that most clearly illustrated at 1 5 in Fig. 5, showing it to be of cylindrical shape with a bifurcated forward cuttingpoint and a across which the punches are reciprocated finger 15 extending at a right-angle from it at a suitable point between its ends. The punches work at their cuttin ends through the guide-openings 12 and the space 14F between the angle-bars, in the rear edges of which slots 1%" are provided in staggered relation from one angle-bar to the other, (see Fig. 6) to receive and reciprocatingly confine the punch-fingers 15, these slots being closed at their outer ends by a bar 16 covering them and for that purpose connecting the angle-bars at the edges of their horizontal webs, The punches also work through the bar 16 which supports their rear ends. Edge protrusions are shown to be provided at 89 on the frame-cheeks 8 and 9. Between these protrusions extends a slotted guide-bar 17 having oifset end-legs 17* rigidly fastened to the inner faces of the cheeks between which and the ends of this bar are formed spaces for reciprocably confining therein blocks 18 having shoulders 18" and tongues 18 on their rear ends to pass through openings 19 in bearings 19 extending inwardly from the cheek-protrusions 89. Secured at its ends to and. connecting the blocks 18 at parts thereof behind their shoulders, is a push-bar 20 extending lengthwise over the guide-bar 17. A thin-metal plate 21, of angular crosssection. covers and is secured to: the push-bar 20 and extends thence against the block shoulders 18" and over the blocks, to which it is secured, and the forward edge of the plate is bent downwardly to form a catch 21 to engage punch-lingers 15 projecting into its path for retracting the punches as hereinafter described; and another sheetmetal plate 22 connects the higher sections of the blocks 18 at their lower sides andis bent upwardly at its forward edge to form a catch 22 for engaging depending punoh fingers 15 for the punch-retracting purpose. The fingers 15" on alternate punches 15 project upwardly through the slots 14 in the horizontal web of the upper angle-bar, and

the fingers on intermediate punchesproject downwardly through theslots 1% in the corresponding web of the lower angle-bar, these slots being sufiiciently elongated to permit guided reciprocation in them of the punch-fingers. i

'The bar 17, hereinbefore referred to as being slotted. is provided in its forward edge with a series of rectangular slots 17", each directly below the rear part of a punch.

On the face of a backing plate 23 on a bar 23 connecting the frame-cheeks toward their lower ends near their edges,1s secured to extend along it a relatively thicker plate 2 1 (which may, however. be integral with thebacking-plate) having a: series of elongated transverse slots 249, corresponding in num her with the number ofpunches employed,

which may correspond in number with that of the keys on the aforesaid key-board. In each slot 24 is loosely confined at its lowerend portion, to be vertically reciprocable, a flat rod 25. These rods extend upwardly through the slots 17 in the bar 17 and each normally registers at its upper end with the rear end of a punch, being resiliently held in that position by a spring 25 connecting it, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, with a stationary ledge-bar 25 secured on the bar 23. A fulcruming bar 26 is fastened at its ends to the face of the bar 23 and has levers 27 fulcrumed between their ends in slots in its upper edge, the shorter lever-arms extending into the slots 24c in the plate 24 underneath the guidingly confined rods 25. Each lever is connected by a thin wire 28 with the pivotal armature 29 of an electromagnet 29. To save space the electromagnets are supported at the base of the mechanism illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, in pairs, as shown in Fig. 1, and I habitually support thenr for the. same purpose in staggered relation in banks (not shown),

each comprising a series of such pairs.

A sheet 30 to be perforated is provided in .a roll on a spool 31. The spool is shown in Fig. 1 to be jourualed in the upperend of the frame on a divided shaft, one section of which is shown at 32 to be spring-pressed and the opposite section carrying 011 its outer end a wheel 33 having its periphery engaged .by a spring-pressed brake 34 to maintain the sheet tautin paying out from the spool. The sheetpasses from the spool through the passage 12" across the line of punches and thence between feedrolls 34- and 35.

one. end a pulley 39having an endless-belt connection diO with.an 'electric motor (not shown),. On each end. of the drive-shaft secured an eccentric ll having an arm 12, extending from its strap; pivotallyconnected with one end of a rocking-lever 13. The

; two roclring leversare supported on a shaft .41 1 pass ng; through them midwayfbetween their ends and being jnurna'led at its ends in hearings in the opposite frame cheeks; and each lever 43 is pivotally connected at its opposite end with the outer face of a. reciprocating block 18 as. represented in Fig. 3.

The foregoingdescription of the mechaunderstood from the following explanation: The sheet 30 shouldbe fed by the rollers 34 and 35 at the rate of speed at which the .nism will enable the operationto be readily 1 ,aearzse automatic translating violin, hereinbefore referred to, is playing, and that speed for levers 48 and reciprocate the blocks 18.

Each closure of a circuit containing an electromagnet 29 energizes it to attract its armature with the effect on the respective wire 28 of turning the lever 27 connected with it in'the direction to advance the respective. spring-retracted rod and protrude it ast the rear end of a punch alining therewith into the path of the pushbar 20 on the reciprocating blocks 18. Each forward stroke of the blocks 18 under the vibrating movements of the levers l3 causes the push-bar to encounter the ends in its path of rods 25 andpress them against the punches in their paths to drive the punches and perforate the sheet In each backstroke of the blocks 18 and push-bar 20, the catches 21 and 22,by engaging the fingers 15 on the advanced punches, retract the latter. As will be apparent, each initial ad- Vance-stroke of any punch produces a more circular hole in the sheet and the duration of the attraction of an armature by its electromagnet determines the-length of the resultant perforation. In the steady feeding of the sheet 30, the very rapid reciprocations of a punch under more or less enduring attraction of its controlling armature obviously produces the elongated perforation by successively overlapping cuts, which are so close together as to produce the serrations in its edges in such fine degree asto be scarcely visible to the naked eye, so that those edges are practically smooth.

An important feature of my improved machine is the comparative lightness of the punch-actuating mechanism, whereby it is adapted to be reciprocated against such slight resistance that the latter may be overcome by relatively shortleverage; so that the arms of the levers 43 may be of equal length, enabling them to be centrally ful crumed on the shaft 44, whereby the resis tance on their opposite ends is so nearly balanced that the resultant effect in the workingof the machine is its operation with vibratory action so light as to avoid detrimental pounding and consequent impairment of the mechanism.

The complicated structure of any perforating machine in the present class has rendered necessary the foregoing rather minutely detailed description of the particular trating a single specific or preferred en1- bodiment of ray invention to be limited thereto, my intention being, by the following claims, to claim protection upon all the novelty there may be in my invention as broadly as the state of the art will permit,

I claim:

1. In a sheet-perforating machine, the combination with reciprocating punches, of actuating mechanism therefor including reciprocating means engaging the punches to positivelyadvance and retract them, a lever fulcrumed between its ends and operatively connected at one end with said means, and

a drive-shaft carrying an eccentric having end has an eccentric connection for reciprocating SEl-lCl'lDGElllS.

3. In a sheet-perforating machine, the combination with reciprocating punches,-of actuating mechanism therefor including reciprocably supported blocks carrying means engaging the punches to positively advance and retract them, levers fulcrumed between their endsand connected at one end with said blocks to reciprocatethem, and a drive shaft with which the opposite lever-ends have eccentric connection for". reciprocating said blocks. 1

4; In a sheet-perforating machine, the combination of punch-actuating mechanism including reciprocabl'y supported blocks, a push-bar connecting said blocks and levers fulcrumed between their ends and connected at one end with said blocks to reciprocate them and the push-bar, and eccentric driving means connected withthe oppositeends of the levers to oscillate them. 7

5. In a sheet-perforating machine, the combination with a frame, of a female punch-die and a punch-guide forming with said die a passage for the sheet to be perforated, punches supported to work through said guide and passage into said die and pro vided with fingers, reciprocably supported blocks, a push-bar connecting said blocks, catches operated by the push-bar to engage the fingers for retracting the punches, levers fulcrumed between their ends and connected at one end with said blocks to reciprocate them and the push-bar, driving means connected with the opposite ends of the levers to oscillate them, spring-retracted rods movable into the path of the push-bar behind the punches, automatically operated mechanism for advancing said. rods against their springresistance, and means for feeding through said passage a sheet to be perforated;

6. In a sheet-perforating machine, the combination with a frame, of a punch-die in horizontal position in the frame and a punch-guide forming with said die a passage for the sheet to be perforated, punches supported to work through said guide and passage into said die and provided with fingers, blocks supported to reciprocate horizontally at the ends of the punch series and connected b a push-bar, catches operated by the push-oar to engage the fingers for retracting the punches, levers fulcrumed between their ends and connected at their lower ends with said blocks to reciprocate them and the push-bar, driving means connected with the opposite ends of'the levers to oscillate them, spring-retracted upright rods raisable into the path of the push-bar behind the punches, automatically operated mechanism for raising said rods against their spring-resistance, and meansfor feeding through said passage a sheet to be perforated. I

7. In a sheet-perforating machine, the combination with the punches and poweroperated advancing and retracting mechanism therefor, of spring-retracted rods movable into the path of said mechanism behind the punches, levers extending at one end into engagement with said rods, electromagnets, and light wires immediately connecting the opposite lever-ends with the electromagnet-armatures for turning the levers to advance the rods into said path by energizing the electromagnets.

8.111 a sheet-perforating machine, the combination with a frame having supported thereon punches and power-operated advancing and retracting mechanism therefor, of a plate secured on the frame and provided with transverse slots in line with the punches, spring-retracted rods movably confined at one end in saidvslots to extend at their opposite ends'into the path of said mechanism behind the punches, levers fulcrumed between their ends adjacent said apertured punch-guide facing said die to form therewith an interposed passage for said sheet, means for feeding the sheet through said passage, slotted angle-bars on said guide, punches reciprocably supported in {said guide towork across said :passage .into the die and having fingers projecting throughthe angle-bar slots, blocks reciprocably supported at opposite sides of the frame and having a push-bar connection, catches operated by the push-bar to engage the,

punch-fingers for retracting the punches, a

drive-shaftjournaled in the frame-sides and carrying eccentrics, levers fulcrumed be tween their ends and connected at one end with the eccentrics to be oscillated thereby, r:-

the opposite ends of theleversbeing connected with the blocks to reciprocate them, a plate on the frame provided with transverse slots alining with the punches, springretracted rods movably'confined at oneend in said slotsto extend at their opposite ends into the path of the push-bar behind the punches,"levers fulcrumed between their ends adjacent said plate to extend at one end into its slots at'an angle to and into engagement with said rods, and automatically operating mechanism connected with said levers for operating them to advance the rods into said path. g

l HENRY K. 's ANDELL} 

